Castles
by Nika Dixon
Summary: Jennifer won't be volunteering herself to stay in any more castles if Ronon has anything to say about it. Ronon/Keller pre-ship/ship. First time.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Castles

Author's Notes: Have I said how much I like this ship pairing? I'm hoping I got into Jen's head this time (not sure) so feel free to let me know if I didn't quite get her right! A little adventure plus I finally get them into bed. :)

_**Warning:** Please note that the last part of chapter 7 has an M rating for sexual content. I couldn't figure out how to fix the rating for the chapter so here's the warning! Everything else is rated T. I'll post another warning at the start of Ch.7. It doesn't detract from the story if you need to skip it - but just be warned about the content!_

* * *

When she was a little girl, Jennifer dreamed of living in a castle. Daydreaming about handsome knights on white steeds, rescuing princesses from evil henchmen, castles with moats, dragons and swords. She was always the princess in need of being rescued, and the knight was always a handsome nobleman.

Of course.

As she got older, the dreams faded, but never truly disappeared. Instead they were replaced with the more grown-up notion taking a European castle tours. Spending each night in a different castle while you traveled around the countryside. But with her studies and everything else that had gone on in her life, she'd never been able to actually do more than read about the tours in travel magazines, and daydream, never really thinking she'd ever be given the opportunity to go.

And now here she was, about to spend the night in a castle.

It wasn't European.

But it _was_ a castle.

A fully functional, straight out of a movie set turret topped castle. Heck it even came with a moat… minus any flesh eating crocodiles or other alien life-form… much to Rodney's relief. The rooms were massive and medieval with their dark gray stone construction and tapestries hanging floor to ceiling. Light was provided with giant chandeliers and candelabras lining the archways and hallways – artificially lit – but glowing with an energy that very much resembled the flickering fire from candle wicks.

She had to admit, the building, the artwork, the whole atmosphere was really quite astounding. She took in as much as she could while accompanying John and Ronon down the long corridor and into a massive library to await their hosts.

John had already explained the people on this particular planet were very private. They'd only met a few of their more outgoing leaders, and from what Jen understood, outgoing was Colonel Sheppard's way of saying they didn't speak much.

She'd come to analyze some samples of what Teyla described as a very strong antidote to several common Pegasus species of poisonous insects. Hope had circulated through her lab to use the research in the Ancient database to create a strain of antivenin they could send out with all the off-world teams. It wouldn't work for everything, but every little bit helped when even the cute fluffy bunnies were carnivores with teeth sharp enough to rip your arm off. She'd originally intended to send Dr. Oberi, but then she'd heard John and Ronon were staying in a castle – a castle - and well, she'd changed her mind and volunteered herself.

Now, as she stood in the library staring at the massive floor to ceiling array of books, she was really glad she'd pulled rank and volunteered herself. The place was fascinating! In this room, shelves and shelves were filled to overflowing with hard covers and tomes, texts and bound volumes. It would have been an impressive collection in any galaxy. She stepped closer to the shelves and circled the room, eyes fixed on the shelves and their overwhelming collection.

At the exact moment she stepped across the open doorway, a grey cloaked figure appeared directly in her path. An older man, looking to be about fifty by Earth standards, he was wrapped head to toe in an overflowing robe. He would have looked very-monk like if not for long grey hair he had braided and hanging down over one shoulder.

For a brief moment, Jen had the startling double vision of a massively oblong skull floating in place of the man's face – a horrifying shadow with hollowed out eye sockets and stark white hair.

She gasped and jumped back, her hip banging against a small table. But as quickly as the image appeared, it was gone and she was left staring at the closed expression on the older man's ordinarily human features.

"Oh good, I see you've already met." Sheppard said good-naturedly. "Chancellor Zale, this is Dr. Keller. Dr. Keller, our host, Chancellor Zale."

Jen stepped forward, hesitating, unsure of their form of greeting. She didn't want to stick out her hand and find herself suddenly locked in the local jail for grievously insulting royalty like Rodney had on PX2-119.

She was saved from any major faux pas when the Chancellor clasped his hands together and bowed formally. She repeated the motion. "Chancellor." She smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Zale, please." He smiled in return.

"Zale, then. Please call me Jennifer."

"Jennifer." He repeated, breaking up the syllables. "An unusual name."

Jen shrugged. "Actually quite ordinary where I come from."

He nodded then turned towards Sheppard. "I realize your days are set differently than ours and it is actually very late in your day, but we are about to sit down to our night meal. Please join us?"

Jen looked at John, who shrugged then nodded. "I don't see why not. Ronon here is always hungry."

She glanced quickly at Ronon, who was standing a few feet away, watching their exchange. Watching her. He hadn't spoken since she'd stepped out of the gate to meet up with him and the Colonel, not even to say hello. She was a little hurt, and a little curious as to what she might have done wrong, but she was also here to work so she tried not to let his silence swirl around in her thoughts. Tried and failed. Ignoring the man was like trying to ignore a pyramid in the middle of the prairies. He was too much of a presence. So instead she decided to avoid looking directly at him. Which is exactly what she was doing right now. Staring right into those amazing green eyes. Eyes that were locked just as intently onto hers. Yep, good job of ignoring him, Jen. She blinked and forced herself to turn back to her host.

Zale smiled at Jen and swung out his arm, indicating she was to walk with him. She looked for John's nod indicating it was okay before she accompanied the Chancellor out of the library. As they continued down the long hallway, Zale pointed out the function of various rooms along the way, sitting rooms and more libraries, storage closets and several other hallways that branched off to various parts of the castle. The place was massive and Jen commented such, prompting a smile from Zale and an indication there was much more to see on the other levels.

They met up with two more similarly dressed men, a younger man who's features resembled Zale's so perfectly that Jen didn't need anyone to tell her she was looking at the man's son. Introduced to Marton, she repeated the bow she'd made earlier. The other man, who was wearing a black robe, stood back to the side and was basically ignored. She smiled towards him but he looked startled and averted his eyes. She decided he must be an employee or servant and probably wasn't allowed to talk to the guests. An archaic practice, but it fit the overall castle environment.

As they continued down the hallway, Zale's son stepped in with them, and the servant simply bowed then hurried down a secondary hallway.

Passing another entrance, Jen glanced in through the half-open doorway and quickly saw that while all the other rooms and areas were brightly lit and vibrantly decorated with artwork and furniture, this room had bare rock walls and looked, well, forgotten. From what she could see of it's dim interior, the grey walls were snaked with huge cracks and the floor was dusty enough to show scrapes and footprints. It looked more like a ruin than part of this beautiful castle.

She hesitated and the Chancellor stopped beside her.

She turned towards him, curious. "What this room will be when you're finished fixing it up?"

Zale glanced at his son then back towards Jennifer. He looked confused. "Fixing it up?" He stepped past her and opened the door wide, revealing a large room that was…

_Brightly lit and beautifully decorated?_

Jen stepped inside and blinked. Then blinked again. Gone were the bare walls and floor, and in their place was a warmly decorated sitting room, complete with oversized artwork on the walls, plush carpeting, dark wooden furniture and a large warm fire in the fireplace in the back corner. She looked back at the Chancellor who was regarding her with renewed interest.

"I- I'm sorry." She apologized, feeling her face flush, and wondering just what she thought she'd seen. "I thought… I mean… It's a beautiful room."

As they continued down the hallway towards the dining room, Jen tried to dismiss her incoherent sight as a simple case of overtired eyes. She _had_ been spending a lot of time in the lab this week, her eyes glued to readouts and lab reports, microscopes and computer screens. And while she liked to think she could work steadily, she suddenly wondered if she needed this little break more than she wanted to admit.

Shaking it off she followed the others into the dining room.

* * *

Tuning out Sheppard's conversation with the Chancellor about local trade options, Ronon watched Jennifer from across the table.

He hadn't wanted her to come.

He'd even considered telling Sheppard she shouldn't be here.

But he hadn't.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see her.

He did.

It was just that he didn't want to see _here_. Now.

There was something… off… about this place, and the fact that he couldn't physically see anything wrong bothered him. That she was here… and not safely back in her lab on Atlantis… also bothered him.

He frowned. There were other medical personnel capable of analyzing the concoction the locals had worked up in their lab. Why couldn't she have sent someone else? Then he frowned again, this time at himself for thinking she'd send someone to do a job she could just as easily do herself. She was a doctor. And any attempt to find a way to save lives was in her blood. Of course she'd come.

He studied her expression, following her eyes as they moved around the room. Twice now he'd seen her head snap towards one wall or the other, then she'd blink furiously, squint and look away before looking back, frowning. He'd follow her gaze, but see nothing out of the ordinary.

And he wasn't the only one noticing her odd behavior. Zale's son was watching her with a mix of interest and distrust. Ronon didn't like the interest. And he sure as hell didn't like the distrust.

As the meal finished, one of the black robed servants came to remove their dishes. He reached in for Jennifer's plate and she jumped with a very loud gasp, prompting silence from the rest of their small table.

Ronon watched her face flush with embarrassment as she stuttered an apology to the startled servant, touting an excuse of being tired.

Ronon watched her carefully. Technically it _was_ late by Atlantis standards. She could very well be tired. A reasonable answer. But something was telling him differently. He'd seen the shock in her eyes when the man's hand reached for her plate, and the wary and confused way she was watching him clearing the rest of the table. Ronon visually examined the other man and his hands, but could see nothing out of the ordinary.

"Earth to Dr. Keller?" John said, leaning towards Jen and breaking her out of her thoughts.

She flushed and turned towards him. "I- Sorry. Um. Pardon?" She shook her head. The fleshless, skeletal hand she'd suddenly seen reaching for her plate made her heart race and she struggled to calm herself down. She had no idea why she'd mentally projected a skeleton's fingers in place of the poor man's hand but as she watched him removing the other dishes, she suddenly wanted to apologize. She also hoped he wasn't going to get into any kind of trouble for her outburst.

"Kale was asking if you'd like to get started first thing in the morning?

Jennifer looked to her host at the end of the table and took a deep breath to steady her voice. She forced a smile and nodded quickly. "Yes. Please. That would be perfect."

Kale smiled in return. "Very well. As I realize it is very late, we have prepared chambers for each of you," he glanced at Sheppard. "The rooms are all together, as you have requested."

John nodded his thanks.

Kale continued, his palm out to indicate his son who was at the opposite end of the table. "You mentioned an interest in our weapons stores and battlements? Marton has agreed to give you a tour before you retire for the night."

_Oh goodie_. Jen thought, fighting back a yawn. _Weapons_ _stores and battlements_.

"Dr. Keller." Kale nodded towards her. "Your quarters are ready, should you prefer to retire. Our sun rises quite early here."

Jen nodded her thanks. "Yes, actually. That's um, probably a good idea. Weapon's stores aren't exactly my area of expertise."

Rising with the rest of the small group, she followed Kale and Marton as they lead them down a twist of corridors. Another turn of hallways and they stopped in front of a large arched doorway. Pushing on the half-closed door, he stepped aside to allow Jen to enter. She stared in awe around the room and was only vaguely aware of the Chancellor telling John and Ronon their rooms were directly across the hall.

The bedroom was bigger than her entire apartment back on Earth, and the bed itself was, well, incredible! It looked bigger than a king-size and that was being generous. Massive posts arched up from the four corners and joined at the top, draping silky sheer curtains down around the sides with a flourish. The bedding looked plush and thick and there had to be at least a dozen pillows tossed against the intricately carved headboard. Earth princesses eat your heart out!

She tore her gaze away and spun around. A set of high backed chairs were staggered in front of the large fireplace, which was happily crackling with a blazing fire. In another corner, a large wardrobe stood slightly open, revealing her clothes already hanging inside. Sitting on the floor next to the massive wooden closet were the two cases of lab equipment she'd brought along.

On the other side of the bed a large archway revealed another smaller room, with the edge of a massive claw footed tub visible.

A throat cleared behind her and she returned to the doorway. John angled his head towards her. "You okay then, Doc?"

Jen nodded and stepped into the hallway. "Yes. I'm um… fine. It's just… bigger than I expected."

"Yes, they certainly super-size here." John answered with a signature smirk.

She looked down the hall to where Ronon was standing, his arms crossed, watching her. She raised her eyebrows but his expression didn't change.

Marton called from the other direction. "Colonel? Shall we? The men are waiting."

John nodded and stepped away, hesitated, then glanced back. "Channel two." He said softly, one eyebrow raised.

Jen nodded her understanding. He was telling her to keep her com system on and open.

Sheppard moved down the hallway towards Marton and Zale.

Jennifer turned to see if Ronon was following and jumped slightly when she almost smacked right into his chest. He'd moved to stand directly behind her, and like usual, she hadn't heard a thing.

She looked up quickly.

"Ronon?" John called from the end of the hall.

Ronon continued to stare down at her, and she wondered why he was looking so… intense.

"W-what?" She stuttered.

"Lock your door." Was all he said.

Jen blinked.

"Now." He growled.

"Oh." Jen stepped back, suddenly understanding. He was waiting for her to lock the door behind her. "Right. Locking. Um…" she backed into the room and started to close the door, but hesitated. "Okay."

"Lock." He repeated, his eyebrow raised.

"Yes. Yes. Locking the door." She closed it firmly and twisted what she assumed was a deadbolt, not sure if she actually liked the loud metallic snap as it clicked in place.

"And goodnight to you, too." She whispered into the wood with a shake of her head.


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

After confirming the seemingly medieval castle had very modern plumbing, Jen washed her face and brushed her teeth, and changed into a tank top and pajama shorts. She then spent a good five minutes trying to figure out how to turn the lights off in the room. Finally she discovered the narrow, metallic looking stripe near the door was the control panel, and if she waved her hand over it, the lights dimmed and extinguished.

With the room bathed only in the glow from the fireplace, she crawled up onto the bed. Fighting through the layers of blankets she propped herself up onto several pillows and stared at the flames, the warmth and flickering light hypnotizing her.

As she snuggled further into the bedding she leaned back and watched the play of the firelight off the sheer curtains hanging down around the bed. Jen couldn't stop the childhood thoughts of princesses and knights from slipping into her conscious. Her eyes drooped and soon she was fast asleep.

_She shuddered with the icy feel of the metal gurney she lay upon. Her limbs were dead. Unmoving. Bound at the ankles and wrists. The room was cold and damp, darkness oozing out of the corners with finger-like shadows. Smells of bitter decay reached her nostrils. _

_A skeleton hovered above her, hollowed out dead holes where the eyes should be. Teeth yellowed and bared while it whispered something cold against her cheek. She struggled and tried to scream but nothing worked. Nothing moved. Only her eyes. Her mind and her eyes. She tried to move – scream – wake up. Nothing. The skeleton moved closer until the hollow eye sockets were all she could see. A sharp sting in her arm and the blackness took her._

Jen awoke with a start, her breathing fast and labored. She kicked away at the covers until she was completely free of their binding twists. Scrambling up the bed she stood on the mattress and jammed herself up against the headboard frantically searching the room for the skeleton man. The unfamiliar surroundings caused her heart to beat even faster as the remnants of the dream tugged through her mind. Her left hand reached for her throat and the right went for the com in her ear… which… wasn't there. She eyed the radio she'd set on the table next to the bed as her mind slowly connected with the location and remembered exactly where she was. Castle. Princess bed. Strange planet.

_Right_.

Her heart slowed and steadied with each deep breath she forced through her lungs. Each cold breath.

"Okay…" She drew the word out, finding the sound of her own voice more soothing than it should have. She stared around the dark room, trying to distinguish furniture and features through the gloom. She noted at the black opening of the fireplace. Not a single glowing coal left to indicate there even was a fire there in the first place.

The fire went out. The room got cold. She had another bad dream.

That was all.

She exhaled slowly.

Okay, that scenario was easy enough to handle. The skeleton and the rest… she was going to leave to the dream.

She checked her watch and was shocked to discover she'd been asleep for less than an hour.

"That can't be right," she muttered.

Climbing off the bed she shivered and quickly moved towards the door, a crack of light seeping in around it's edges leading her in the right direction. Raising the lights she caught herself looking for intruders, then after verbally chastising herself, she checked the bathroom, the wardrobe, and under the massive bed. Anytime she left the rug the freezing temperature of the floor shocked her feet and she lifted herself up onto the tips of her toes.

_Wow this place gets cold at_ _night_.

She moved to the fireplace for a closer look. The fire was definitely dead. Jen eyed the stack of logs in the ornate box next to the mantle but had absolutely no idea how to get it going again without a blowtorch. Tentatively touching he stone along the side of the mantle she was surprised to feel it was cold. No trace of any residual heat from the previously occupying fire.

Then Jen realized she could actually see her breath.

"Uh, okay." She said softly, not sure why she was whispering to herself, but not questioning it either.

Shivering, she lowered the lights until they were barely outlining the shapes in the room, scrambled back up onto the bed, and burrowed herself under the blankets. She closed her eyes but they immediately snapped open again. The dream felt way to close to the surface for her to even consider going back to sleep. And just how had that fire gone out in less than an hour?

She sat up again, peering through the faint light at her oversized room, and suddenly felt very… small.

"Oh, get a grip." She chastised herself. "You always wanted to stay in a castle. Well, here you are!"

Flopping back down against the pillows she yanked the blankets up to her chin and squeezed her eyes shut.

They popped open almost immediately.

She climbed out of bed and turned the lights up, then rushed back to her cocoon of covers and squeezed her eyes shut, but the burned in image of the eyeless skeleton returned and she opened them again.

There was no way she was going to get any sleep in this room tonight.

* * *

Thanks to Rodney McKay, Ronon had become very skilled at tuning out babble and picking up only the elements he needed to know. Like the fact that their tour was a complete waste of time. The weapons hadn't been fired in years, they had nothing but single shot rifles, and their battlements and defenses were so poorly manned that if they actually did have enemies – which apparently they didn't – they wouldn't know what to do with a siege if they were given the manual.

Sheppard had finally given in and called it a night, for which Ronon might have hugged him if he'd been disposed with that kind of personality.

He'd settled for a fast "okay" instead.

With a quick glance at Jennifer's still closed door, Ronon watched Sheppard's retreat to his room before he stepped into the quarters he'd been assigned. The minute he crossed the threshold he sensed he wasn't alone and had his weapon raised as he stepped out of the framing light of the doorway. The fire provided the only light, but it was enough for his eyes to cover the entire room at a glance, then lock on the bare ankle hanging over the edge of one of the oversized chairs near his fireplace. A very delicate looking ankle. Her scent filled his nostrils. He dropped his gun back into the holster and closed the door.

Stepping around the edge of the chair he stared down at Jennifer's sleeping form. Curled sideways in the large chair, she was balled up under the blanket, only the top of her head and one foot visible.

Had something happened?

If it had, why hadn't she used her radio?

He leaned forward, his hand lightly touching her shoulder. "Doc?"

She jumped and scrambled backwards, her limbs tangled in the blanket. She tumbled sideways over the arm of the chair and would have hit the floor… if he hadn't caught her.

"Ronon?" She stammered as he set her back into the chair. "Jeeze, you startled me. I must have fallen asleep."

He retrieved her radio, which had fallen onto the floor. She reached for it and he felt the cool skin of her fingers brush against his as she accepted it.

"You okay?" He asked, standing to the side to stare down at her.

Jen looked up, his profile hidden in the backlight from the fire. _I had a dream where a skeleton-man was after me and I can't stop seeing strange things and my fire went out turning the room horribly cold in less than an hour and I'm a little freaked out and didn't want to be alone and I was really hoping I could just stay here tonight…_ she thought, and managed to squeak out an "I'm fine."

He didn't answer.

"I wasn't sure if this was your room or John's." Jen groaned inwardly, her random statement not exactly coming out the way she'd intended.

"He's next door…" he angled his head to the left and stepped away. "If you're looking for his room…"

"No!" Jen said, a little too forcefully. "I'm not. I wanted you. Yours. I don't. Wait." She dropped the radio, kicked off the blanket and stood up, reaching for his arm. "Are you mad at me?" She blurted out.

_Are you mad at me? Oh God, Jen. How old are you again? _

He stopped and turned around, the light from the fire revealing his features. He looked, well, like Ronon. She tried to find a trace of emotion on his face but couldn't determine anything other than the fact that this man would be amazing at poker.

When he glanced down to where her fingers were still clutching his forearm she snatched her hand back.

Ronon felt her fingers leave and wanted to tell her it was okay to leave them there. He didn't want her to be afraid to reach out to him. To touch him. But he was too distracted by what she'd just asked him to think clearly.

"Should I be?" He finally asked.

"Should you be, what?" Her brow furrowed.

"Angry."

"What?" She ran her hands through her hair and shrugged. "Oh. No. I mean, I-I don't think so. I don't know. I don't remember doing anything to make you mad. I've barely seen you all week, and if I did something to upset you I'd hope you'd tell me because I didn't mean to do anything wrong. If I did. So… I'm sorry?"

He continued to stare down at her, and it was starting to make her feel even more confused.

"Why are you sorry?"

She blinked. "For whatever I did that made you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you."

She opened her mouth, then closed it, turning her head towards the fire. "Oh. I just thought. You wouldn't talk to me, so, I guess I figured… I mean I know you don't talk much. To me. To anyone really. Well you talk, but not talk-talk. And I thought maybe there was something, but you're kind of hard to read. And you haven't said anything so I just figured I might have done something…"

She trailed off and shrugged, staring into the fire.

While she spoke, Ronon's eyes couldn't stop assessing. The fire light bathed her in its gentle aura, making her look even more beautiful. When she tucked her hair behind her ears she exposed the side of her neck and from there his eyes kept moving. Over bare shoulders and arms, a glimpse of skin around her waist, down over the shimmering pink –shorts?- and lower, following the gentle curve of her bare legs right to the tips of her toes. He swallowed quickly and tried to keep his thoughts controlled.

"You're here because you thought I was angry with you." He said it as more of a statement, part of him wishing she'd come for another reason. For him. Not because she thought he was angry.

"No." She shook her head quickly and dropped her chin, hiding her face behind her hair. "No. That was just a question."

"Doc?" He asked, his mind starting to wonder if his original assessment had been correct. Something had happened to drive her out of her room?

She sighed. "It's stupid."

He reached out and turned her towards him, angling his head lower so he could get a better look at her face. "What's stupid."

"My room." She absently rubbed her throat. "The fire's out and it's cold and well, it's a little creepy. I wanted to ask if you'd… would you… (_let me stay here tonight?_) check it out for me?"

Ronon almost smiled. Good. She _had_ come for him. He liked knowing she'd asked him for help… and not Sheppard. "Come on."

The hallway was empty when they stepped across. She reached for the door handle but he put his hand on top of hers. She looked up, eyes questioning.

"Me first."

"Oh. Right." She nodded and let go of the handle.

He pushed the door open and stepped forward, intending to reach for the lighting control when he crossed an invisible threshold of freezing cold temperatures. With a curse he withdrew his gun and stepped quickly back, knocking into Jennifer who was right behind him.

"Out." He ordered.

"What?" Jen whispered, her eyes moving to his gun, then back into the darkness. "Is there someone there? Hey, I thought I left the light on…"

From the hallway Ronon stared into the darkness. He reached forward, his fingers feeling the edge of the temperature shift. Damn, that air was cold.

"Sheppard!" He called out.

A few seconds later a door across the hall opened and John stuck his head out. Wearing only his boxers and a navy t-shirt, he looked like he was just about to get into bed – except for the P90 he was holding tightly across his chest.

Jen blinked. Geeze, that was fast. Did he sleep with it?

John took one look at Jennifer (in her pajamas) then Ronon (still aiming his gun into her room) and cursed. "You know, just once I'd like to have an uneventful gate experience."


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

Ronon ordered Jennifer into his room and made her lock the door.

Turning back, he watched as Sheppard scanned the room with the light from his P90.

"She just woke up and it was like that?"

"That's what she said." Ronon answered, stepping up beside him.

John nodded. "Damn, that air is cold."

Ronon grunted in agreement.

John quickly reached around the edge of the door and raised the lights.

From the hallway the room looked… well… completely normal. An almost carbon copy of their rooms, with the exception of the bedding. The room Jennifer was in was decidedly more feminine.

With a deep breath, John stepped into the room, P90 raised and ready.

Ronon smiled to hear Sheppard cursing as he crossed the threshold. Then Ronon stepped into the room and immediately felt his body tensing against the shock of temperature. Okay maybe not quite that funny.

A quick sweep of the room revealed nothing other than cold air, and a dead fireplace.

"There was a fire in here when we left, right?" John stepped towards the fireplace and stared down at the dark grey ashes, his breath clearly visible as he spoke. He glanced at his watch. "It's barely been two hours."

Ronon nodded, moving the ashes with the toe of his boot. "No embers. Doesn't look like it's been used for a long time."

John's fingertips felt the brick along the side of the mantle, and he placed his palm flat against the stones just above the hearth. "I'm no McKay, but scientifically speaking, some of this should still be warm."

Ronon glanced around the room.

"We could call for someone to come build it up again?" John mused aloud.

Ronon shook his head. If there was something sinister going on, he didn't like the idea of alerting their hosts, and he could tell by the look on Sheppard's face, the Colonel didn't really believe it was a good idea either.

John's brow furrowed. He strode quickly across the room and out into the hallway.

"What?" Ronon asked, following behind.

John tentatively opened the door next to Jennifer's and reached in to trigger the lights. Another bedroom. Fully decorated. No fire in the fireplace.

Ronon followed as Sheppard stepped into the bedroom.

No fire. But only a very slight temperature drop between the hallway and the room – likely because of the closed door. They tried each of the other empty rooms in their section – six in total. All were empty, with no trace of a fire, and only a slightly cooler temperature than the hallway. Both rooms on either side of Jennifer's were normal.

When they returned to her room, they both stepped inside, felt the sudden slap of the icy air, and stepped back out.

John pulled the door shut and leaned against it. He rubbed his hand over his face. "We could bunk together and leave her one of our rooms."

Ronon shook his head. He'd had a bad feeling about this place from the minute they'd arrived. And now he was beginning to feel justification for his gut reaction. It was Jennifer's room – not theirs – which had the problem. Moving her might just move the problem with her.

"She can stay here." He nodded his head towards his closed door. "I'll keep watch."

John blinked, then raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Ronon countered.

John shook his head and smirked. "Nothing." He turned and headed towards his door. "Just be careful. You know where to find me."

With an audible click John's door closed leaving Ronon standing alone in the hallway. He turned towards his own door and rapped quickly with the back of his knuckles. He was about to announce himself when the door opened. He frowned and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and throwing the lock.

"I said don't open it until I tell you it was okay."

"You knocked." She shrugged, smiling as she adjusted the blanket she'd wrapped around her shoulders. "I figured the bad guys would just kick it down. Or blow it up. No need to knock first."

Ronon felt the corner of his mouth quirk up.

"So…" She raised an eyebrow and shifted her weight from bare foot to bare foot. "Did you find anything."

He shook his head.

"Okay. I guess I should go back then?" She said, a little quieter this time.

He shook his head again. "You'll stay here." He didn't miss the look of relief crossing her features.

"Okay." She nodded, answering a little too quickly.

He frowned. She hadn't argued. "Are you sure nothing else happened tonight?"

She blanched. "No – nothing – why?"

"Doc." He growled.

Jen hesitated. It really was nothing… wasn't it? Just a few bizarre visions, a creepy dream, and a cold room? She stared up into his face, once again lost in the intensity of his eyes. He raised an eyebrow, expecting an answer, and she opened her mouth to give him a quick abridged version, but found herself spitting out every detail of the odd things she'd experienced since she'd arrived.

He remained silent, his gaze locked on hers. She shifted nervously. Okay maybe she shouldn't have said anything. Now he probably thought she was nuts.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, covering a yawn with her hand and looking away. "It's silly, I know. What sane person sees skeletons? Too much time in the infirmary I guess. It's not a big deal, I'll just add some blankets. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you-."

"Doc." He interrupted.

She stopped talking and looked up.

"Go to bed." He pointed his chin at the bed across the room.

Jen blinked, and glanced over her shoulder. "But that's your bed." She turned back.

"Now it's yours."

"I- I can't take your bed. I can sleep in the chair. I do it all the time in the infirmary. I'll be perfectly comfortable."

"Bed." He answered.

"But that's not fair. _I'm_ bothering _you_. I-"

"Doc." He growled.

Jen crossed her arms, trying to go for a tough look, but the drowning affects of the blanket wouldn't let her.

He raised an eyebrow in challenge and she knew she wasn't going to win the battle. "Fine." She answered. "Then we'll share."

_Oh great idea, Jennifer! Why not suggest you get naked, too?_

"I mean" she quickly corrected. "There's plenty of room for two. For both of us. Not together. But apart. Plenty of room apart. To share."

She waited for his answer, but instead of giving her one verbally, he turned towards the door and dimmed the lights. Then, without speaking, he strode over to the fire and sat down in one of the chairs.

She stood in the same spot, confused that he'd turn down her offer. She wasn't trying to imply anything. Was she? Okay well, lately she _had_ thought they might be… well… there might be something _else_ between them. Something more than just the regular friendship shared between co-workers. She'd felt it several times. Could see the way he watched her. And all the late night trips to the infirmary for random injuries that anyone could have taken care of… but that seemingly only happened when she was working? Had she read too much into it? She wasn't offering him anything other than a place to sleep, was she really that offensive he couldn't share a bed big enough to sleep half a dozen people comfortably? Okay so maybe there wasn't anything there. Anything between them. Maybe she'd hallucinated it just like the skeleton man.

The thought of the skeleton man made her shiver, and killed off any notion of returning to the ice-box room.

She stared at Ronon's profile, the hurt growing then shifting. It was silly for him to want to sleep in a chair. If he was that worried about it she could stuff half the pillows between them and there'd still be a ton of room on either side.

Jen frowned. She wasn't much of a fighter, but she could be just as stubborn as anyone else – a trait she inherited from her Dad. Fine. If he wouldn't sleep in the bed, then neither would she.

Taking a deep breath she crossed the room and dropped herself into the other seat by the fireplace. With her back to Ronon, she pulled her knees up under the blanket and wiggled down into the oversized chair and closed her eyes.

A moment later she squeaked at the sudden shock of being lifted. Her eyes snapped open and she stared up at Ronon. He carried her across the room and lay her gently down on the bed. Covering her with one of the massive blankets, he turned and headed back to the chair by the fireplace.

Jen sat up, incredulous. _Had he just… I can't believe he just did that! _She swung her feet off the bed, tightened the blanket with added resolve, and walked across the room to the chair again.

This time she barely had time to close her eyes before he scooped her back up. "Ronon!" She exclaimed.

He deposited her on the bed again, straightened, then returned to the chair.

Jen's eyes narrowed. She flung off the blanket and walked back over to the chair, barely having time to sit before his arms picked her up and she was returned to the bed.

The fourth time she was so close behind him he spun when he reached the edge of the carpet and had her up and on the bed before she was able to finish a full breath of air.

With a huff of exasperation Jen grabbed one of the many pillows and chucked it after him. "You're so stubborn!"

The pillow thudded softly against his back and he paused, but didn't turn around. She stood up on the bed and quickly threw a second, then a third.

In silence, he picked up the pillows, his face impassive as he returned and dropped them back on the bed. Before he could turn away, Jen swung the one she was holding and connected firmly with the side of his head. Because she was standing on the bed, the added height made connecting with the target much easier. He looked so shocked she almost laughed. Almost.

He stared up into her face and raised an eyebrow, then turned towards the fireplace.

So she hit him again.

He stopped and turned around, his eyes narrowed.

She swung again but this time, his hand caught the material before it landed. She picked up another pillow, gripping it tightly as she danced back on the bed.

"Problem?" He asked, lowering the pillow.

"Nope." She answered, leaping forward and swinging again, this time connecting with his left shoulder.

He blinked. "Then why (whump) are you hitting me (whump) with a pillow? (whump) Doc!"

He grabbed for her pillow and she jumped away, spinning around to hit him with the other pillow. He snatched it away too but she had a dozen more to choose from. This bed was well loaded.

She dove for two more, stood and spun around, aiming for his head with her right and his torso with the one clutched tightly in her left. "You are an incredibly stubborn man!" She hissed, connecting with the first while he blocked the second.

When he finally swung the pillow he held in his right hand, he connected solidly with the back of her thigh, knocking her down onto her side. She glared at him as she crawled slowly to her feet and saw the look of concern flash across his face. "Doc…" he started, dropping the pillow. "Sorry, I-"

She spun and connected with the side of his head, issuing the silent challenge.

He didn't move.

She hit him again, and raised an eyebrow. "Give up?"

"Give up, what?" He answered.

She hit him again. "The bed."

He hesitated, confused. "I already gave it up."

"No (whump) you dingbat. We're two grown adults. We can share it."

"You want to fight over sharing the bed, with pillows?"

"No." She muttered, exasperated, the pillows dropping when she lowered her arms to her sides. "We're not _fighting_. I'm telling you how it's going to be."

Ronon jumped at the sudden opening and nailed her with a pillow across the upper body. Jen gasped and staggered to the side, immediately spinning to swing her pillows in a counter attack. She connected with one but not before she noted he was kneeling across the bed and reaching for a second one. With an audible squeal she pummeled his back, fighting off his upward swing. He let out a growl and snatched the two pillows she held, tossing them over his shoulder onto the floor.

Suddenly, the thought of Ronon Dex - Specialist and warrior - chasing her down for a pillow was too funny to contain and she started to laugh. She caught a brief flash of laughter in his eyes before he dove directly at her.

With a squeal she scrambled to the far side of the bed, snagging a large beaded cushion. Raising up on to her knees she grabbed the two corners and twisted to the side, but he saw her coming and countered by falling back. She quickly exchanged the heavy cushion for two small red ones and was spinning to attack when a pillow hit her lower back forcing her face first into the bedding. She glanced up and saw him dive across the bed towards her.

With a laugh she rolled onto her back and swung at his head, connecting, but was unable to stop his forward movement. In an instant he'd disarmed her of both pillows and was laying on top of her, his head raised above her while his hands pinned her arms beside her head.

She laughed and demanded his surrender.

He smirked and stared down at her. "I don't think you won."

"I got you onto the bed, didn't I, Mr. Stubborn?" She answered triumphantly.

Ronon shook his head and rolled his eyes, making her laugh again.

He stared at the sparkle in her eyes and suddenly felt very unprepared for the surge of emotion coursing through his veins. His senses shifted and he could hear-feel-smell everything about her. The soft curves of her body under his, the rapid rise and fall of her chest where it brushed against his every time she inhaled. The scent of her hair, spun out around her head in messy tangles, the delicate soft skin of her wrist under his palms. Soft melodious sound of her laughter, her breath on his cheek, full lips curved in a delicious smile that called out to him to taste.

She must have sensed the sudden change for the laughter quieted and died away. She licked her lip, drawing his eyes back to their fullness. His eyes moved back to hers and he fell deeper into their depths. Wanting more. Wanting everything. He felt his body responding to the complexity of emotion and the intimacy of their position. Her breath hitched as she drew in a lung full of air and held it.

Ronon suddenly understood that whatever it was – she felt it too. He could see it. Feel it. The way her body suddenly responded to the change in his. Her eyes slowly expanded and darkened, her lips parted and her breathing was coming shorter, faster. He felt her lower body shift oh so slightly against his thigh which was wedged tightly between her legs. It made him ache even more and he could feel himself expanding against the tight confines of his pants

Her mouth was only inches from his – and he wanted it – he lowered his head a fraction, hesitating, calling out to himself to stop, but she moved first, closing the distance and pressing her lips to his.

She was soft, tentative, and tasted of a life he'd once forgotten. Breaking into a thousand pieces he let go, and gave in. Kissing her slowly. Gently. Taking his time to savor and taste, and memorize every detail of these few precious moments. He couldn't stay. Wouldn't stay. But he couldn't leave, either.

His hands slowly left her wrists and moved to bury themselves in the whispery soft tendrils of her hair. With her arms free, he felt the cool, tentative touch as her fingers slid up his arms and caressed the side of his neck, her thumbs pressing lightly against the edge of his jaw.

His body screamed _more_, but his mind screamed _stop_.

He finally let the voice in his mind regain control and pulled away, staring down into her eyes.

"Wow." She whispered, her tongue dancing out to lick her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. Distance. He needed distance. If he felt any more of her he wouldn't be able to stop himself. As it was he was on the edge of taking her here and now. Gods, she was so beautiful.

"Ronon?" She questioned softly. "Please." she hesitated, and he could see her uncertainty, she cleared her throat. "Stay?"

"Stay?" He shook his head. She was offering… no… she couldn't be. She meant to share the bed. Not share her body. But the way her thumb was caressing the side of his throat…

"Please." She whispered, her eyes searching his face. He felt her body shift ever so slightly under him. "I want… I want you to stay with me. Tonight. I just… don't have much experience with this kind of thing… I mean I do, but not a lot and I'm not saying this right, am I? I-"

"I can't." He cut her off quickly, pushing himself off her, off the bed, ignoring the flash of hurt he saw on her face, ignoring the pain of knowing he was the one to put the hurt there. He couldn't explain it to himself, much less try to explain it to her.

Without looking back he returned to the fireplace and lowered himself gingerly into a chair, breathing deeply and trying to control his runaway emotions.

He stared into the fire, listening to the soft sound of her breathing, and willed himself to let it go.


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR

Ronon had no idea how long he'd stared into the fire, but the silence surrounding him ate away until he finally realized it was _too_ quiet. He could no longer hear the soft sounds of her breathing.

Standing quickly, he moved towards the bed, his eyes scanning the mounds of blankets and pillows. He could see the folded area where she'd crawled under the covers, but the bed was… empty?

He checked the floor on either side.

His heart slammed against his ribcage.

He ran to the bathroom. Empty.

"Doc?"

Checked the corners, the wardrobe, and under the bed.

_She was gone._

Ronon ran to the door, knowing, _knowing_, he hadn't heard her leave. The lock was still engaged – from the inside. He whipped the door open, hoping that by some twist of science she'd simply returned to her own room… through a locked door.

Her door, which Sheppard had closed only a short time earlier, stood wide open.

In two strides he was across the hallway. Ignoring the wall of ice as he passed the threshold, his eyes automatically locked on the tiny form in the middle of the oversized bed.

There were no blankets, no pillows, nothing but the mattress itself. Lying perfectly in the middle of the bed – was Jennifer – flat on her back, bare limbs exposed, closed eyes facing the ceiling.

Ronon dove across the room, his breath clearly visible in the freezing air. She was half naked and lying completely exposed in freezing cold temperatures! He scrambled across the bed and dragged her against him. Her skin was cold. He swung her up and carried her back across the hall. He could feel her steady breathing – and in the bright light of the hallway, she looked as though she'd simply fallen asleep. A very deep sleep.

After locking his door he snagged one of the covers off the bed and carried her towards the fireplace, dropping into a chair and draping her in the blanket.

"Doc?" He asked quickly, his hands brushing her hair away from her face. "Doc?" This time more urgently.

"Cold." She mumbled, squirming tightly against him.

The sound of her voice sent a shockwave of relief through his body.

He tightened the blanket around her, tucking her feet in under the edges.

"Better?"

She nodded against his chest, her hair tickling the underside of his chin. He felt her head drop and knew she was fast asleep.

_What the hell had just happened?_

She'd only been gone a few minutes, hadn't she?

How'd she get over there through a locked door? He'd been distracted, sure, but not distracted enough to miss her climbing out of bed, crossing the room, unlocking the door, opening it, closing it and somehow locking it again.

So… how?

No one else had been in the room, of that he was certain.

And she hadn't left on her own.

So that left the only other option – someone had moved her.

He tightened his arms around her and stared warily into the fire. Why put her in a freezing cold room? Was someone here trying to kill her? Why would they? They'd never met her before today.

Eventually he gave up trying to figure it out and stood slowly, carrying her over to the bed. Dropping down into the blankets he covered her and keeping one eye on her while he retrieved a chair and placed himself next to the bed.

* * *

Jen spent the next day sitting in the laboratory with two white-robed gentlemen, examining results and running tests on the antivenin she'd come to analyze.

She was only marginally distracted – well, okay _really_ distracted with the events of the past day – so what should have taken her only a couple of hours ended up taking most of the day. Ronon told both her and Sheppard what had happened after she'd gone to sleep – and both men insisted they return to Atlantis immediately – but Jen refused to go until she'd collected her samples. It was the whole reason she'd come, and a bout of sleepwalking wasn't going to deter her. She may have put up more of a fight than she should have, but she refused to back down. She also couldn't bring herself to look Ronon in the eye today after what had happened last night. She'd thrown herself at him like some kind of horny teenager, and thankfully, he'd refused. Okay, not just refused. Walked away. And that hurt. More than she really, really wanted to ever admit.

She knew she wasn't exactly a _Teyla_, but most guys wouldn't pass up an opportunity for free sex, would they? Not that she'd ever offered it to anyone else, and yes, okay so she'd just lumped Ronon in with most guys, which he wasn't, and while she hadn't more than a few dates and even less sex, she knew he'd felt something – she'd certainly _felt_ something when he was pressed up against her. So… that left the kiss. She'd been such an awful kisser she'd sent him running away. A man like Ronon… he needed someone who knew what they were doing. Someone sexy. He couldn't possibly want someone like her. Plain Jane in hospital scrubs. She wasn't exciting. Couldn't fight. Didn't know one end of a bantos stick from the other. Had nothing to offer other than an ability to stitch him up whenever he was injured.

Medical support did not a relationship make.

So when she'd awoken, alone in the bed, she'd decided that if all she had was medicine, than medicine was all she'd had. They'd moved her things into the room while she slept so she'd gotten dressed and then rushed into the hallway to confront them both.

She wanted the antidote and since there was no immediate threat to her person, no visible sign of malice, and, other than a really cold bedroom, there was no proof anything was wrong other than a gut reaction, so she was staying. They'd argued – quietly - but she'd finally gotten her way only if she promised not to go anywhere without either one of them. She'd spent the day in the lab with one of them standing guard in the hallway at all times.

As darkness descended, announcing the end of the day, she finally confirmed the antivenin quickly neutralized seven of the ten samples she'd brought with her to test. A success by any standard and she was quite pleased with the findings. Pleased, but tired. As she snapped the locks down on the packed cases, Sheppard appeared beside her, picking up one while she grabbed the other.

"Ready?"

She nodded. "Yep."

He turned towards the door. "Ronon's out front."

She didn't answer. Choosing not to think about it. Think about him.

As they turned to leave, Jen heard the Chancellor Kale's voice as he entered the room and she smiled, wanting very much to thank him.

She never got the chance.

* * *

Ronon awoke first, his head fuzzy and pounding, a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. His eyes struggled to open, but all he could initially manage was a narrow squint. Darkness and shadows. He was lying on something hard and cold. Really cold. Rock? With a groan his hands reached for his head while he rolled onto his side, willing himself upright. The world swam and tilted madly. Several deep, slow breaths and his head began to clear. At least enough that he could focus his eyes.

Gray stone walls. Dim lighting. Cobwebs. Dust and dampness.

The last thing he remembered was… the castle? Yes. The castle. Waiting for Sheppard. Waiting for Jennifer.

His eyes blinked and focused on a large, unmoving shape to his left.

Sheppard.

He crawled quickly over, grabbing John's TAC vest and rolling him onto his back. "Sheppard?" He gave him a light shake. "Sheppard, wake up!"

John groaned and muttered something unintelligible.

"Wake. Up." Ronon gripped the shoulder straps of the vest and yanked the Colonel to a sitting position. John's head lolled back and then snapped forward, dropping down to his chest.

"Ow!" Sheppard muttered, his hands reaching for his head. "Okay, that really hurts."

Ronon grunted, his eyes scanning their location.

They were in a ruin of some sort. The walls were cracked and crumbling and several spots were open to reveal the night sky. The floor was overgrown with dirt and weeds as the local plant life grew up through cracks and crevices.

John's head turned and he looked around. "Where the hell are we?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Ronon asked, dragging John to his feet.

"Um…" John shook his head. "Leaving the castle. No. Leaving the lab."

Ronon slowly let go of John's vest, readying his hands to catch him if he fell, but the effects of whatever it was that had knocked them out was wearing off quickly. Ronon's headache had almost completely gone and his vision was no longer fuzzy.

John straightened and looked around. He patted the pockets of his vest and seemed genuinely surprised to know his P90 was still attached, he still had his revolver, along with clips, C4, his radio and all the other gear. "We're still armed?"

Ronon nodded and squinted into the darkness, taking a few steps along the hallway. "Yeah."

"Keller?" John suddenly asked, spinning around in a circle.

"Not here." Ronon answered.

"Wait. She was here, right?" John sounded marginally unconvinced until Ronon pointed to the two silver medical cases stacked in a corner.

"Right." John answered. "Okay then. This is bad."

Ronon grunted from down the hallway. John hurried to catch up.

"Where the hell are we?"

Ronon stepped into an empty room where three of the four walls still stood. The fourth wall was completely gone and a large collection of tree branches swayed in through the opening. Light from the two moon's orbiting the planet added a surreal glow, and extra illumination to go along with the light on John's P90.

Ronon pointed to the walls which were still standing, and the faintly distinguishable shapes of bookcases.

"The library."

John looked carefully around, P90 leading while he crossed the room towards the tree branches. Stepping out into the open he weaved his way through the trees and stepped into a clearing. Crossing to the far side, Ronon stood beside him as they both stared at the structure they'd just exited.

"What the hell?" John muttered.

The castle, where yesterday was a sound piece of masonry, was now a tumbled down ruin with barely anything left. The section they'd been standing appeared to be the only remaining element still constructed, still standing to its full height with one turret still attached. The other areas looked to have been reduced to one or two stories, piled with rubble and half standing walls, and judging by the overgrowth, had been that way for many, many years.

"It's like something out of Rip van winkle…" John blinked. "How long have we been asleep?"

"Rip who?" Ronon asked, his eyes constantly moving.

John shook his head. With a curse of sudden realization, he reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the Ancient hand held sensors, and immediately began to search for life-signs.

"Anything?" Ronon stepped closer, staring over his shoulder.

John shook his head. "Just two." He looked up, then looked back down at the scanner. "Yours. And mine."

"She can't be… gone." Ronon said quickly, running back towards the structure. "It doesn't make any sense!" Ronon couldn't – wouldn't – let himself think anything other than the fact that she was still there somewhere. Still alive. Still perfectly fine. She was just in a different part of the ruin.

John ran behind him, one eye on the scanner, the other on the ruins. Returning to the room they'd left, John skidded to a stop when the screen flickered and blanked.

"What?" Ronon growled. "Did you find her?"

"No. But…" John spun in a circle, holding the scanner in front of him, moving back and forth over the crumbled section of wall. As he passed from outside to in – the exact spot where the old wall would have stood, the scanner flickered for a brief moment, it flashed over a dozen life-signs in the near vicinity, and a very prominent energy signature. It was there for only a second before disappearing. He repeated the motion, able to see the additional life signs, but only when the scanner crossed the threshold of the missing wall.

John glanced over at Ronon. "I think we're going to need some help."


	5. Chapter 5

FIVE

"Okay!" John called over his shoulder. "That's it."

"Of course it is." Rodney waved his hand, his head lowered over his tablet. "And if you'd stop wiggling it, we'd have a much better chance of getting a lock."

"Couldn't you have brought a tripod or something?"

Rodney rolled his eyes and glared at Sheppard. "Yes well next time you send Gronk to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night with a '_Get dressed_' and no explanation I'll be sure to request a list of required items before he chucks me over the event horizon! Now stop squirming!"

John shifted his weight and dug in his heels, propping the tiny scanner against one of the pockets on his TAC vest. He took a deep breath and concentrated on holding absolutely, unequivocally, still.

Just as his lungs were about to break free of his mental stranglehold and suck in the much needed oxygen, Rodney snapped and pointed. "Got it!"

John quickly sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. "Can I move now?"

"Yes, yes you're good. I just needed you to keep it still long enough to get a lock on the right frequency."

"And you got it?"

Rodney gave him a _duh_ look.

John lowered his arms and rolled his shoulders as he walked across the room to peer over Rodney's shoulder at the tablet.

Rodney pointed to the bottom left corner of the screen and two dots overlapping. "Us." Then he jabbed his finger at a small cluster. "Lorne." Circling his finger over the rest of the screen. "Everyone else." Jabbing it at a large spinning spot on the bottom right. "Energy source."

John keyed his com. "Major Lorne, report."

Lorne's voice came back almost immediately. "Nothing yet, sir. Some of these sections are almost completely destroyed. It's making forward progress difficult."

John stared at the screen. "We're showing two life-signs directly in front of you." He heard Lorne issuing orders to his team and watched from the screen as the cluster of blips broke apart slightly.

John quietly called out a play by play, watching the on-screen dots approached, then passed through the cluster that was Major Lorne's team.

"They're right on top of you!" He exclaimed, exasperated, when Evan whispered they could see nothing but each other.

As the two blips moved away, John looked at Rodney. "Are you sure this thing's working."

"Yes, I'm sure."

Ronon stepped over the wall. He'd made a complete circuit of the ruins looking for outlying buildings, or any other structure but found nothing. "That thing working yet?"

"Yes." Rodney answered.

"No." John countered.

"We're wasting time." Ronon growled, a feeling of utter helplessness starting to worm its way into his thoughts. She couldn't have just disappeared, although she already had once before. Last night.

"I need to check out that energy signature." Rodney yanked his backpack on and stepped over the crumbled remains of the missing wall, one eye on the ground and the other on his tablet, using it like a compass. He disappeared around the corner, snapping his fingers and waving the two of them forward.

Ronon glanced at John, who shrugged and stepped over the rubble after McKay. Ronon followed, hating the fact he was going to have to rely on McKay and his technology to find her.

But there was nothing else he could do.

As he followed behind Sheppard and McKay, he eventually reasoned that if anyone could figure it out, McKay could. The question was, would he figure it out in time.

Too much could happen – be happening. He tried not to think about it, but couldn't stop himself. Events of last night plagued him. If anything happened to her… Her last waking thoughts would be of him walking away. Abandoning her. He'd seen hurt he'd inflicted when he'd left her in the bed.

He, more than anyone, should know how short life here was. How valuable.

She'd offered him something precious and he knew – _he knew_ – a woman like Jennifer wouldn't offer lightly.

He shouldn't have walked away.

But he was afraid. Afraid she wanted _forever_ in a place where he could only offer _right now_. And now that he'd had time to think, and rethink, and replay… she wasn't stupid. She had to have known the risks. She knew what this galaxy was like. Yet she'd still asked.

And he'd run away.

Now she was gone.

_No_. He chastised himself. _She is not gone. She is missing. You'll find her. We'll find her._

And he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

* * *

"McKay what the hell did you just do?" Sheppard spun around, his P90 raised, stumbling back towards the spot where Rodney had been standing only moments before… moments before the pile of grey bricks around him shimmered and formed into a beautifully decorated sitting room with a plush carpet, warmly lit chandelier, and what looked to be a very comfortable loveseat angled next to a roaring fire.

With a bright flash of light the entire room disappeared and John was once again standing in the darkness of the rubble. He blinked and stepped back, spinning around in time to see Ronon letting go of the front of Rodney's vest. Apparently the big guy had been in the process of shaking the answer out of the scientist.

"See! Look! He's right there!" Rodney pointed at John, rolled his eyes and straightened his vest. "I told you he was fine!"

They'd reached the area of the runs where the energy signature was located and discovered a small section of the original castle still intact. After quickly covering the perimeter, Rodney insisted the source of the power was located behind one of the walls – walls without a visible door.

A well placed chunk of John's C4 quickly solved that problem, and they'd climbed through a jagged opening into a large room who's only feature had been a sporadically pulsing tower directly in the center.

"McKay!" John released his grip on his gun and stepped back in through the hole they'd blown in the wall. "What the hell just happened?"

"Colonel?" Lorne's voice came over the com. "We, um, we think we just saw the inside of your castle."

John keyed his radio. "Yes. McKay was just about to explain. In the mean time, pull your team back to my location."

"Roger, that." Lorne answered.

"Rodney?" John waited for his explanation.

"Well if you'll shut up long enough for me to tell you…" Rodney muttered, making calculations on his tablet from behind the column. "This entire structure exists in multiple realities."

"Multiple realities." John muttered, glancing at Ronon.

Ronon didn't want to know the how or why. All he wanted to know was if McKay could fix it.

Rodney waved John back. "Go stand over there."

John backed up.

"No, no, outside the wall."

John moved again and looked at Ronon expectantly.

"And now…" Rodney reached in behind the column. "Voila!"

Ronon blinked when John completely disappeared.

"McKay!" Ronon growled, his body tensing.

"Oh would you relax! He's perfectly fine." Rodney leaned back towards the column then straightened. "See?"

Ronon turned towards where McKay was pointing and saw Sheppard once again spinning around, holding his P90 at the ready.

"A little warning next time?" John muttered towards the scientist.

"Yes, well, it worked, didn't it!"

"What worked?" Ronon asked, shifting his gaze from John to Rodney.

Rodney let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you ever listen? Like I said before, this entire place-"

"Yes, yes, multiple realities." John waved his hand and stepped closer. "What else?"

Rodney stared at the ceiling as though looking for divine intervention. "They are two totally different locations occupying the same space."

"Is that possible?"

Rodney angled his head and gave John a smart-scientist-talking-so-shut-up look.

"Everything you see right now is real. Everything you see when you… shift… is also real. They're two totally different… places. They just happen to exist in the same space and time. That's how you were able to move around without banging into rubble, or falling through holes in the floor."

"They why don't we see both?"

Ronon looked up into the night sky, briefly wondering that himself.

"Because of the laws of – no, no. It would take me weeks to get you even remotely up to speed so you're just going to have to trust me. We're here. It's here. The other life-signs are here – they're just not… _here…_ here.

"So how do we get back there – here - there?" John shook his head.

Rodney turned towards the pulsing column. "The only effected area is the castle walls and anything inside. Everything outside is normal. Well, normal being that it only has one reality that I can see, although it would make sense for the entire planet to-"

"Rodney!" John leaned forward. "Can you get us in there?"

"You already are." Rodney said slowly. "You just can't access it yet."

Ronon growled and stepped towards McKay but John held him back. "Then get us access."

"If you'd stop talking…" Rodney huffed with an exasperated sigh.

"Fine." John stepped back and pulled Ronon away from the scientist. "Just make it quick."

Rodney waved them away as though shooing a bug, raised his tablet, and dropped to the floor behind the glowing column.

Lorne stuck his head in the opening. "Colonel?"

John stepped out through the gap, followed by Ronon. Lorne approached, his men keeping a wary eye on the hallway.

"So did you see…" John shrugged.

"The inside of a massive dining room complete with walls, ceiling, oversized table and a really good smelling meal?" Lorne nodded. "Yea."

"See anyone?"

"No sir." Evan shook his head. "It only lasted for a couple of seconds. The second time we were just in the hallway."

John nodded, and did his best to explain what Rodney said about both places existing at the same time. Lorne looked like he understood it about as well as the Colonel.

"Sheppard!" Rodney called, and John stepped back through the opening, followed by Ronon and Lorne.

John waited a few moments before clearing his throat. "Yes?"

Rodney stuck his head out from behind the column. "Obviously we're standing in some kind of shielded area since you shifted without Ronon or I seeing anything different."

"Obviously." John muttered.

Rodney made a face and continued. "The rest of the building is able to shift from one reality to the other. The catch is we're in this reality, and the others are in… well, the other."

"I think we've figured that out already." John said sarcastically. "The question is, can you get us in to the other… reality?"

"Yes." Rodney said, making it sound more like _duh_.

"Then do it!" Ronon growled.

"Well its not that easy." Rodney rolled his eyes and turned back towards the column. "If my calculations are correct, I can get you thirty minutes, tops, before the reality shifts back again, which means you'd better be standing on the ground floor when it happens."

"When what happens?" Lorne asked.

"The shift." Rodney repeated. "Okay, how's this? Both realities exist but have different physical features. If you're on the roof in that reality when it shifts, there may not be a roof in this reality when you get back here."

"Oh." Lorne looked at Sheppard, who looked equally grim. "So we'll…"

"Drop like a jumper off a New York high-rise?" Rodney raised an eyebrow. "Pretty much."

"Good to know." Lorne nodded.

"And if we need more than thirty minutes?" Ronon demanded.

"I can reset the clock but it'll take about ten seconds."

"Will our com systems work?" Lorne asked, glancing between Sheppard and McKay.

"In one reality or the other, but not in both."

"So we'll be cut off?"

"We'll _both_ be cut off." Rodney nodded, then frowned, suddenly realizing he'd be sitting alone in a crumbled castle without any backup.

"Lorne, leave one of your men here with McKay." John nodded at the Major and stepped out through the hole in the wall. "The rest of you come with me. Set your watches for twenty two minutes. That will give us eight minutes to get down off an upper floor in time for the… shift. Use your scanners for life-signs. One of them will be Dr. Keller. Use force if necessary."

Ronon grunted.

"If. Necessary." John repeated, glaring specifically at Ronon. Then with a quick look at Rodney he nodded. "Let's do it."


	6. Chapter 6

SIX

Moving through the rooms and hallways was a hell of a lot easier in the second reality. Active lights, a lack of rubble, and the assistance of the life signs detector gave them a direct target to each location.

In the first ten minutes they'd incapacitated six of the local's they'd come across, leaving them alive – but out of commission. Lorne's team had taken out several as they worked to clear their designated area.

Lorne his men were covering the second floor while Ronon and John ran through the main level. Ronon knew by the way John kept checking his watch time was fast running out.

"What the…" John was checking the screen when he skidded to a stop and muttered a curse.

Ronon spun around. "What?"

John pointed out a section on the small screen. "One of our life-signs just disappeared. No. Wait. He's back. Now he's gone again."

John looked up and quickly checked their surroundings, then checked his watch. "Come on."

Taking off at a run, Ronon took John's urgency as permission to stun anyone in his path.

Which he did.

"Time?" Ronon asked quietly as they neared the location.

"Five minutes." John moved quickly around a corner, one hand on his P90, the other on the scanner. He quickly acknowledged a transmission from the other team. "Lorne's cleared the next level." He added with a whisper. "He's on his way back down, now."

Ronon followed slightly behind and to the right, keeping his thoughts away from anything other than blips on the screen. Dots. Follow the dots. Don't think about what they could be doing to her. Don't think that it might already be too late.

Peering around a corner, John leaned back when Kale and his entered the hallway. He shook his head when Ronon stepped forward. John held up the scanner, and with another quick look, followed the two black robed men down a series of hallways, finally recognizing where they were.

_The bedrooms._

Ronon tried very hard not to shoot them both when both Kale and Marton moved to enter the room in the middle of the hallway. The same room they'd assigned Jennifer as quarters.

Ronon felt John's hand on his arm.

He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, willing his mind to concentrate. No mistakes. No distractions.

They moved quietly down the hallway, flattening themselves against the wall on either side of the doorway. John double tapped his watch and held up three fingers.

_Three minutes left_.

With his hand reaching for the handle, John nodded and then swung the door open.

In an instant Ronon's mind registered the room, the layout, and it's occupants.

The bedroom was gone.

In it's place was a laboratory? Infirmary?

To the left, three men, staring at large screens and readouts, each with their back to the doorway. To the right – Kale. Marton. Jennifer.

_She's here!_

_She's alive._

Machines. Electronics. Men. Jennifer.

Lying on a gurney located in the exact spot the bed would have been, Jennifer's position was almost exactly the same as Ronon had found her in last night. Only this time, she was strapped down. Her head rolled slowly to the side as they entered the room.

In an instant Ronon dropped four men, leaving a stunned Chancellor staring at the unconscious bodies.

Sheppard quickly keyed his com and informed Lorne that they'd found Dr. Keller. Then he moved to the gurney, reaching for the straps binding Jennifer's legs.

"Colonel." Jennifer raised her head, then cleared her throat. "I was starting to get a little worried."

"Sorry." John smiled. "McKay couldn't decide which reality he liked better."

Ronon shifted so he could keep one eye on the open doorway, and the other on the Chancellor.

"My son…" Kale blanched, staring at Marton's unmoving body.

"He's alive." Ronon growled. "For now."

"But how?" The Chancellor stammered. "How were you able to find us? You should be unable to… to even be here!"

"Yeah, well, we're often underestimated like that." John answered, finally releasing Jennifer's legs and moving up to the strap covering her upper body.

"What did you do to her?" Ronon growled, stepping forward, his eyes not leaving the Chancellor's face. He was very close to switching his gun off of the stun setting and dropping the black robbed man where he stood.

"She is fine. We have not harmed her. We only wished to understand her."

"Understand her?"

"Yes. How she is able to see us."

"See you?" John turned towards Kale, and straightened.

Kale hesitated as he shifted towards Jennifer, but Ronon's growl forced him back. The Chancellor's voice grew in pitch and awe with each sentence he spoke. "Our people have existed here for centuries unseen by outsiders unless we permit it. Your Doctor…" He glanced at Jennifer. "She has been able to see outside the reality we created without assistance. We had to use and exorbitant amount of power to keep our reality separate from yours simply because of her. In hundreds of years we have never met anyone with such an amazingly open mind. We only wanted to understand her. We tried to analyze her last night but… you interrupted. So our senior council decided tonight would be our only opportunity. We would have returned her to you tomorrow. As you can see she has not been harmed!"

John finished releasing the second strap, and reached down to help Jennifer sit up. She immediately slumped to the side and he had to grab both her arms to keep her upright. Ronon's eyes narrowed and he stepped closer to Kale, forcing the man to back step quickly.

"Are you okay?" John asked, staring intently at her face. He released her arms and stepped back, giving her a visual once over as he helped her sit up.

Jennifer slowly reached up and removed the silver sensors from her temples, dropping them onto the floor. She gripped the edges of the gurney and nodded. "I'm okay. Just… woozy." She rubbed a hand over her face.

"A… a mild sedative." Kale stammered. "It will leave no lasting effects. We would never-"

He stopped talking when Ronon stepped closer. "Did they hurt you?"

"No." She shook her head. "Just took some blood. And um… scans. Brain scans. The usual alternate reality health check."

"You sure?" He glanced quickly at her face.

She nodded and gave him a half smile, her eyes blinking closed then opening slowly. She shook her head as if trying to clear it. "I'm sure."

Ronon watched as John stepped foward to help Jennifer slide down onto her feet, but a flash of white light filled the room and they were left standing next to a pile of rubble with a clear view of the open night sky, John's hand still outstretched.

Jennifer was gone.

Ronon spun around, eyes frantically searching.

"McKay!" John activated his com. "We found her! Get us back there, now!"

"Thank God." Rodney answered. "Okay, okay! Just give me-"

"Now, Mckay!"

"I told you, it will take ten seconds! I should have you back in three… two… one…"

Silence hissed and as the room shifted out of the darkness the walls shimmered back into place. Weapons raised, John and Ronon did a complete circle of the room, but Kale was no where to be found.

Jennifer, now standing by the doorway, let out a startled gasp as soon as they reappeared. Ronon holstered his gun and stepped towards her. She took two wobbling steps towards him before her legs gave out and she collapsed. He caught her before she hit the floor, scooping her unconscious form up into his arms.

"Let's get the hell out of here." John muttered, stepping out into the hallway, leading with the P90 and the scanner. A few moments later they met up with Evan and his team. Quickly making their way through the eerily empty castle, they finally stepped out through the entrance and down the steps to the courtyard.

Ronon felt her body stirring and held her closer, the fact that she was still alive, still breathing, was the only thing keeping him from running back in there and killing them all.

* * *

The sun was still hours away from rising, but there was no way Jen was going to be able to get any sleep. Not now – not today – and maybe not even tonight.

She was far too upset and confused to think about anything other than what she'd learned from the others during the debrief, because Jen remembered absolutely… nothing.

Not a damn thing past the second she stepped across the threshold of the castle doors to waking up in the jumper firmly wrapped in a blanket held tightly by Ronon.

Nothing.

And no indication she'd ever be able to retrieve the missing pieces either. No bizarre flashes of missing time, no hints, no weird feelings. Only the different hour on the clock, and the change of date on her calendar indicated anything out of the ordinary happened.

Oh she heard everyone else's side of the story – John, Ronon, Rodney, Evan – but she wanted her own side.

Tests showed no traces of the sedative left in her system. She was healthy. Unharmed. No bizarre virus. No miniature robots. She'd been released and ordered to take a day off and rest, with the promise to come back if any unusual symptoms developed.

And after everything that happened, the antivenin really would do what they said it would! Unbelievable!

Pacing an invisible loop around the floor of her quarters, she struggled to wrap her mind around it. She'd been kidnapped and brain scanned because she could see another reality? Only in Pegasus! She shook her head. Something else had happened. She'd seen it on Ronon's face in the conference room when Colonel Carter asked him if he had anything to add. He'd stared at her for a moment, and she'd see something in his eyes. Concern. Worry.

Yet he said nothing.

It bothered her, that look. A look that said he was holding something back. That there was something more he wasn't sharing in front of the others. Something he knew – that she should remember.

What happened that he wasn't telling her?

She'd apparently told both him and John she was fine when they'd found her. That she hadn't been harmed. But she _had_ been gone for hours. Hours probably spent on an exam room table being probed by God knows what while she…

A knot twisted in her stomach and she stopped so suddenly her sock feet slid on the bare floor. She'd been left alone – drugged - for several hours - with a group of strange men who wanted to _examine_ her.

Men only.

No one could recall seeing any women.

A deep seeded fear spiked across her abdomen and she clutched her lower body tightly. Her mind couldn't complete the thoughts as they flashed through her mind. Every woman's nightmare. No matter who… where… the fear never truly left. Especially these days with all the psycho's and perverts and it was bad enough on Earth much less another galaxy and oh God what if they'd… If she'd been… Is that what Ronon knew?

She'd been fully checked out as soon as they'd returned, but no one checked… she hadn't requested… she hadn't thought she'd have needed a… a gynecological exam.

Jen sucked in a deep breath and tried to reason herself through it. Surely she'd know if something _had _happened. She was just being silly. Colonel Sheppard would have said something, would have insisted she be looked after. Wouldn't he? What if he didn't know? What if something had happened before? They'd told her about her room and Ronon finding her. Maybe he'd seen something Sheppard hadn't seen. There was absolutely no reason to think anything happened other than what they already determined. But she'd been alone and she couldn't remember. She had no physical marks or bruising. Yet she had been drugged. She could go request an examination. But it would be silly to waste someone's time if nothing happened, right?

She stood in the center of her room, her brain jumping from one extreme to the other. It was possible. It wasn't possible.

Jen sighed.

There was only one way she was going to know for sure.

Leaving the sanctity of her quarters, she walked quickly down the empty corridor.


	7. Chapter 7

_**CONTENT WARNING: The second half of this chapter is definitely rated M for sexuality.** I couldn't figure out how to change the ratings by page so here's the warning. I've tagged the beginning of the section so you can read the final piece of the story before it gets... hotter. :)_

* * *

SEVEN

When Jennifer reached Ronon's quarters she stood in front of his door, hand raised to knock, still trying to talk some sense into herself. _She was completely overreacting. She had no reason to believe anything else had happened. She was just tired and over excited and everything would look better in the morning. _

Exhaling slowly, she turned to leave as the door swished open.

She spun back around, her voice suddenly lost as she stared at the man she'd come to see. The fact that he was wearing only a pair of leather pants overriding any thoughts of why she was there in the first place. Yes she'd seen him topless before – but she'd always been working. Stitching him up. Helping sooth or repair an injury. She wasn't used to seeing him half naked and, well, upright. His wrists were bare – no gauntlets, no wrappings, and heck even his toes were bare.

"Doc?" He questioned, his face showing concern.

She looked up, seeing the darkness of his room. "I'm sorry." She repeated, taking a step back. "You were sleeping. I didn't mean to wake you. It's not important. I'll let you get your rest."

"Doc." He stepped towards her, reaching out and gently taking hold of her upper arm turning her back around to face him. "What's wrong?"

Jen opened her mouth. Closed it. Looked away. Looked back. And shrugged.

She couldn't find the words.

"Come on." Ronon said quietly, pulling her into his room and out of the hallway. He raised the lights enough to cut through the darkness.

Ronon hadn't been sleeping. He'd been staring at his ceiling, unable to stop thinking about her. He'd felt a presence in the hallway and had used the excuse to get up off the bed.

He hadn't expected it to be her.

She should be resting.

He studied her, bare arms threaded around her midsection holding herself tightly. The pink tank top she wore was slipping slightly off her left shoulder, leaving it bare and exposed. She was dressed for sleep, and wasn't even wearing shoes. Her hair was pulled back away from her face, the ends still damp. He inhaled sharply, enjoying the faint scent of flowers that always surrounded her.

She bit the inside of her lower lip, her eyes locked on his. He could see worry etched on he face.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stepping closer.

She shook her head, clearly not quite ready to explain why she'd come.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He raised an eyebrow, trying for a question she should be able to answer.

"I can't." She shrugged. A few moments of silence passed before she continued. "My brain won't shut off."

He nodded in understanding. "It happens."

He watched her eyes widen slightly and a furrow appear on her forehead while she furiously chewed her lower lip. She was going to start bleeding if she didn't let up with those teeth.

"I need to ask you something." She blurted out.

He waited.

"Did I…" She sighed, pursed her lips, then continued. "Did I say anything to you when you found me?"

"Like what?" He inched closer, not taking his eyes off of hers.

"Like… anything? I mean did I say if they… did… anything else to me? Blood tests and a brain scan. That's all I said?"

"That's all." He was now standing directly in front of her. "Why? Do you remember something else?"

She shook her head, but he saw the uncertainty flash behind her eyes. "No. I don't. That's… that's the problem. I can't stop replaying everything. It's going around and around. I was gone for a while. I can't remember anything. I don't know what happened. Maybe it's from watching too much television or, or seeing too many movies but I can't stop thinking about the fact that they drugged me."

She blinked and looked away, then lowered her head with a sigh.

"I was drugged, tied up, and… um, alone… with a group of men. Where I come from that usually means…" She trailed off, unable to actually say the word aloud.

Her words ended so quietly he was unsure he'd heard correctly. He shook his head, his mind numb with the question she'd just asked him. Was she asking him if he thought she'd been… assaulted?

"Nothing happened." He growled, a lot louder than he should have. _This is what worried her?_ His hands shot out and he pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly.

He felt the cool skin of her arms squeeze tightly around his waist and lock against his back. "So you don't think…" she whispered, her face buried against his bare chest.

"No." He shook his head, squeezing her for reassurance. "I don't." He leaned his cheek against the top of her head, the softness of her hair sliding smoothly under his jaw as she nodded.

"Okay." She said softly, her shoulders slumping as she exhaled with relief. "Okay. That's good."

_I know your scent so well I would have smelled another man's touch on your skin. _He almost said. But didn't. Instead he stated a simple truth. "I would not have left anyone alive if I thought you'd been harmed in such a way."

He felt her body jerk, a soft laugh reaching his ears. "You know," She nodded, her hair tickling his chin. "I believe that."

"You should." Ronon tightened his grip. He definitely had _not_ been joking.

He continued to hold her, reveling in the feel of her body pressed firmly against his, her arms circling his torso. With a soft sigh, he felt her shift her weight and lean closer into him. Then a long low rumble echoed through the stillness of his room prompting her to laugh. He could feel her body shaking against his as she giggled out an apology.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry." She tilted her head back and grinned up at him. "I guess I'm hungry."

Her bright smile warmed his heart and he found himself smiling in return.

He slowly lowered his arms and released her – reluctantly –surprised to be the one who moved first. After a brief moment her arms slid slowly back around, fingers lingering along the front of his waist before she pulled away.

He stepped back, keeping his eyes locked on hers, wanting to keep the connection. Without looking away he yanked a shirt off the back of a chair and quickly pulled it over his head.

"Come on." He nodded his head towards the door. "Lets get you something to eat."

* * *

**_M RATING STARTS HERE_**

* * *

They left the empty cafeteria, Jen's stomach sedated and her mind at rest. She had to have talked his ear off, but in a way she blamed him for it, and told him so. It was his fault for asking questions. It hadn't taken him more than a few minutes to have her laughing at herself. Heck she'd even had _him_ laughing at one point and she'd been so distracted by how young – how carefree – it made him look, she bit down on her fork without realizing she hadn't put any food on it first.

Part of her was glad the cafeteria had been empty. She wasn't sure how the rumor mill would react if anyone had seen her running around in her jammies and socks with a barefoot Satedan. But another part of her didn't care – he was here with _her_ and that had to be worth something… right?

As they walked side by side, her hand brushed his. She wasn't sure who's fingers moved first, but together their hands threaded, and remained, as they continued their trek. Something in her heart skittered when she realized he'd slowed his pace, almost moving in half steps so she wouldn't have to speed to keep up with his longer gait.

It also gave her more time to continue to keep his fingers twisted against her own. It was so… natural. Comfortable. It sent her mind into places it shouldn't be going. But she couldn't help it. She found herself purposely slipping in her socks just to feel the warmth of his arm brushing against hers. She flipped through the what if's and could be's as they approached the area containing the living quarters, then her brain started to argue would-she-could-she as they reached the corridor where her room was. But this was Ronon. He was just being… friendly. Nerdy girls like her never got to be with the sexy guy. Unless he needed help with his homework.

"Well I guess this is my stop." She said with a smile, as they reached her quarters. Glancing up into his face her smile faltered. He looked… serious.

"What?" She blinked, suddenly unsure. She moved to extract her hand from his but he held it tightly. "What's wrong?" She asked softly.

He shook his head, moving his arm to pull her hand against his chest. "I'm glad you're okay."

Jen could feel the beat of his heart through the back of her hand. Its strong steady rhythm making her heart beat just a little bit faster. She stared at the contrast her pale fingers made against his larger, tan ones.

"Me too." She smiled, "Have I said thank you enough times yet?" Inching forward, she repeated his movements, gently tugging his arm closer to her body, and pressing the back of his hand against her chest. She raised her free hand and placed it on his chest, flattening it so she could feel his heartbeat through her palm. When she looked up, her eyes were instantly drawn to his. He was staring at her mouth, which made her automatically part then lick her lips. She hadn't meant to – it was an automatic reaction to the direction of his gaze. Yet she felt his heart beat increase through her palm.

He lowered his head and her heart kicked into high gear. She lifted her chin, raised herself up onto her toes, and met his lips with hers. What she thought was going to be a quick good-night kiss was lasting a _lot_ longer. Her fingers tightened in the material of his shirt and she pulled herself higher. The soft, tentative push of his tongue parted her lips and she pressed closer, angling her head and dancing in with her own tongue.

A physically required need for oxygen pushed them apart. Jen felt the cold press of her door against her back as she leaned away. He straightened slowly, dropped his arms, and took a step back.

The entire front of Jen's body chilled with the sudden loss of heat.

"I should let you get some sleep." He said quickly, the rough sound of his voice sending a shiver down her spine.

Jen searched his eyes, hoping to see something, anything to indicate what he was thinking but she could barely make her own mind function. She'd never felt such an overwhelming urge to throw every caution to the wind before in her life. She wanted him to stay with her. To stay the night. She didn't want to think about rules. Procedure. Right and wrong. Why she shouldn't. Why _they_ shouldn't. She didn't want to be Dr. Keller, CMO of Atlantis. Tonight she simply wanted to be Jennifer.

He took another step back and turned slowly, moving to go.

"Do you want to come in?" She blurted out, watching his hesitation as he froze and turned slowly back around. _Oh lord, I can't believe I just said that out loud._

He stood silently watching her. The intensity of his gaze made her suddenly feel very stupid for thinking he'd want to. With her.

"I'm sorry." She stammered, lowering her head so he couldn't see the heat rising to her face. "I don't know why I just said that. I shouldn't have… I mean you're… I'm… I'm sorry. Forget I said anything." She turned and quickly waved her hand over the access panel. The doors to her quarter slid open and she hurried into the dimly lit interior.

His fingers seared her arm as he spun her roughly around. She didn't even get a chance to speak before his mouth claimed hers and this time… there was nothing tentative about it.

The door swished closed behind her and he turned again, forcing her back against the wall. His tongue explored her mouth, tugging and teasing before he broke away and trailed a row of kisses down the side of her neck.

Jen felt her body respond instantly, and she arched against him, tilting her head to give him greater access. He trailed kisses across her collarbone, the ends of his dreads tickling across her skin, making her shiver.

"Cold?" he asked, his breath hot against the nape of her neck.

Jen shook her head.

His mouth quickly returned to hers. She felt his hand reaching for her ponytail and with a swift twist, he pulled her clip out and buried his fingers in her hair. He gently tipped her head back and placed a quick succession of light kisses along the sensitive skin beneath her chin. She inhaled sharply and dug her fingers into his shoulders as his mouth moved lower, stopping just above the neckline of her tank-top.

He dropped to his knees, trailing his hands slowly down her bare arms before placing his palms on either side of her waist. When his thumbs slowly moved the bottom hem of her shirt up, she inhaled sharply as his heated skin touched her abdomen. He placed a short, light kiss on her navel before looking up.

Jen found herself unable to move – to breathe - the intensity of his gaze holding her frozen. Her fingers tightened against his forearms.

"Do you want to stop?" He asked, his voice even lower than she could ever remember.

She shook her head and attempted to speak, but all that came out was an audible gasp when his tongue swirled a circle around her bellybutton. His hands slid slowly up her body, forcing her shirt up and exposing her torso to the cool air. With trembling fingers, she reached for the material of her shirt and pulled it up, Ronon's eyes locking quickly on hers as she yanked the shirt off and dropped it to the floor.

He growled low in his throat and stared at her now exposed breasts. Her body tensed in response to the raw hunger in his gaze and her nipples hardened instantly. He leaned forward, his mouth moving hungrily over an exposed bud. The minute his tongue touched her skin Jen knew she was completely lost.

Her entire body jerked and she moaned. She could feel the heat building between her legs and couldn't stop her hips from shifting.

When he moved to her other breast, he didn't leave the first one lonely. With his mouth kissing, pulling, and teasing one, and his thumb tracing invisible circles around the other, Jen could do nothing more than lean her head back against the wall and close her eyes.

The pressure in her lower abdomen was gaining intensity and she could feel the wetness building, the slow swirls his tongue was making around her nipples driving her closer and closer to the brink. She gasped when he nipped, then moaned when he gently kissed it better. His mouth moved lower, his lips sliding down below her navel, his fingers matching their movement as they slid under the waistband of her pajamas.

Jen shuddered as he lowered the material with agonizing slowness. When he reached her feet, he gently lifted first one, then the other, to remove her pants entirely. She was now completely naked.

She dropped her head and stared down to where he crouched on the floor at her feet. She watched – and felt – his hands and mouth skimming slowly up her legs. Ankles. Calves. The incredibly sensitive area behind her knees. Higher towards her thighs. Using his knees he slid her feet apart, parting her legs, leaving her fully exposed in the cool air. She shuddered and gasped, suddenly realizing exactly where his mouth was heading. Ronon kissed the inside of one hip, then the other, before joining with the middle.

She'd never had… no man had ever… oh God he was going to…

The second his tongue touched, her hips bucked and she gasped, jerking her head back. Her body was wound so tightly she could barely breathe. It was all she could do to keep herself upright.

He kissed and licked, circled and probed, pushing her further and further towards the edge until she felt like she was going to explode. With a strangled cry her hips rocked violently forward and she dug her fingers into his shoulders, arching her body and riding the flood of release. Her legs buckled and she would have fallen if not for his sudden, swift movement.

Jen found herself weightless as he carried her across the room towards her bed. The rough material of his shirt teased her bare breasts and she squirmed. He lowered her on to the bed and straightened, leaving her naked and exposed on the covers. The combination of the cool air and the heated hunger behind his eyes made her tremble.

She wanted more.

Needed more.

Needed _him_.

She whispered his name.

"Ronon." Her voice sent a shiver of need down his spine. He stood beside the bed, staring down at the woman laid out before him. By the Ancients she was beautiful! Cheeks flushed with passion, mouth swollen and parted as she gasped for air, her pale skin glowing in the faint light. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her and loose himself forever.

He tried to hold back – wanting to give her as much pleasure as he possibly could before he took his own.

Then she whispered his name.

He was lost.

With a low growl Ronon crawled onto the bed. He kissed her mouth, her cheeks, both sides of her jaw, up and down each side of her neck, crossing her collarbone and moving slowly lower. He felt her hands tugging at his shirt and with a swift movement yanked the offending material over his head and threw it across the room.

Her fingers lightly explored the bare skin of his chest and he groaned, the pain in his groin increasing as his swollen member strained against his pants. He leaned down to suckle a nipple and she arched against him, her legs slipping apart as her ankles hooked over the back of his knees. He pressed himself against her, feeling the heat of her swollen center through his pants. She gasped and he swiftly covered her mouth with his, stealing her breath.

She squirmed beneath him, her fingers tentatively sliding down his back. Her movement nearly drove him to the brink and rolled off her, quickly shedding his pants before returning to the bed. He covered her body with his, taking care to keep most of his weight on his arms. He could feel her soft skin along the entire length of his body and it was driving him wild.

He dropped his mouth to hers and she raised her head, meeting him halfway, her fingers locking behind his neck to pull his head down. He slid himself between her legs and she parted, raising her hips. He reached out and lifted her knee, urging her to wrap her legs around him. When he felt her heels slide down along the back of his legs he groaned and pushed forward, sliding himself slowly into the hot, slick, wetness.

Her body tensed suddenly and she gasped. He froze, his eyes locking onto hers. She hesitated, her tongue licking her lips. "Sorry." She whispered softly. "It's been… a while."

She closed her eyes and shifted her hips, digging her heels into the back of his thighs. Her fingers slid slowly down his back and dug sharply into each cheek, pulling him deeper.

"Ronon." She whimpered, "Please."

His resolve broke. With a low growl he slid himself completely inside her and nearly exploded at how tightly she felt around him. He lowered his head and took a deep breath, struggling to control himself. She placed soft kisses along the side of his neck. He moved slowly at first, but the feel of her body beneath him and her legs wrapped around him, drove him closer and closer to the brink. As his thrusts increased, so did the motion of her hips as she rose up to meet him. They met and parted, met and parted, increasing in urgency until he felt her body buck and arch, she clamped down around him, screaming his name and throwing him over the edge. With one final thrust he buried himself to the hilt and cried out with release.

He collapsed against her and she wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head. Placing his forehead on hers, he concentrated on breathing, feeling her chest rise and fall with short gasps. He moved to roll off her but she dug in her heels.

"Not yet." She pleaded.

"I'll crush you." He replied, nuzzling her neck.

"At this point…" She whispered softly against his ear. "I don't really care."

He smiled and kissed the side of her neck.

"I care."

_- END -_


End file.
